National Republican., 1887-11-14
A SERMON TO PARENTS.
REV. DIR. TALMAGEs REGULAR SUNDAY
SERMON.
He Tells OF Some OF the Biunders Pa
rents Make by which Children Are
Made Petuiant and Misanthropic-
How TO Remedy Them.

BROOKLYN, Nov. l3-The weekly publica-
tion of Dr. Talmage's sermons Is beyond par
allel. Beside the EnRlish-speaking nations,
including Australia and New Zealand the scr.
mons are regularly translated into the Ian
guages OF Germany, France, Italy, Den
mark. Norway, Russia and India. The
gentlemen having in charge the pub.
lication of these sermons inform us
that in this country every week 100000
copies of the entire sermon are printed and
about 100000 In other lands making over
100000 per week. A similar arrangement is
now being made for the publication of DIR. Tai
mngc's Friday evening talks.
Tho subject of the sermon to-day was "Pa-
rental Blunders," aud the text was First
Samuel, iv, IS: "He fell from of the seat back
ward by the side OF the gate, aud his neck
brake, and he died for he was au old man. and
heavy. DR.. Talmage said:
This is the end of long story of parental
neglect Judge ELI was good man, hut he
let his two boys Hophni and Phinehas, do as
they pleased and ,hroSSh
years OF age, Is seated at the gate waiting for
the news Of an important battle in which his
Two ions S were ~ t,n 4, the , front An express Is
blind nonngenarian puts his hand behind his
ear and listens, and cries, What meaneth the
"our army is defeated. The sacred chest.
called the ark, is captured. and your sons are
tainted aud expired. The domestic tragedy
In which these two sons were the tragedians
ha ssed ,he s Snd last act fell
gate, and his neck brake anil he died for he
was an old man, and heavy"
Ell had made an awful mistake in regard to
his children. The Bible distinctly says: His
sons made themselves vile and he restrained
them not" oh, the ten thousand mistakes In
lh mil Ct1 tnQ QnINN t,Ntc csan
of teachers IN day schools aud Sabbath
classes, mistakes which we all make. will IL
not be useful to consider them2
great army, compared with which that of
Baldwin the First, and Xerxes, and Alexan-
der, and Grant, and Lee, ali put together. were
in numbers insignificant. They will capture
all our pupits, storehouses, factories, and halls
Of legislation, all our shipping, all our wealth,
all authority, from the United States Presi.
denoy down to the hnmblest constabulary-of
oceans. They are on the march now, aud
they halt neither day nor night. They
Will soon be here, and all the
Country must surrender o and give way. 1refar 9.r
TO the great army of children. Whether they
rhall take possession of everything for good or
for bad, depends upon the style OF preparation
through which they pass ON their way from
cradle 70 throne Cicero acknowledges he kept
anything he wanted to publish for himself OF
others; and all parents and teachers have all
her charge and not only o ySs prece e eass s
appendix, whether the volume be poem or a
farce. Families, and schools, and legislatures
what is the best mode of educating children.
Before this question almost every other
dwindles into insigntdeance, while dependent
upon Its proper solution is the welfare of
tselis tsli Of the war which Frederick if'nde Ii made
against Queen Maria Theresa. And one day she
AnDparpQ before the diet mn,
ing for her father, and held up in her arms be-
fore them her child, the archduke. This so
people that with half drawn swords they
broke forth in the war cry: LET us die for our
queen, Maria sSn, TIL There's @ So thus morning
hold him before the American people to
arouse their enthusiasm in his behalf, and to
evoke their oath for his defense, his education,
and his sublime destiny.
Jfa parent, you will remember when you
and when you found thai YOU had not done ali
required after you had admired the tiny
hands, and the glossy hair, and the bright
meinbered that that hand would yet be raised
obless the world with Its benediction, or to
smi,e it with curse In Ario;tos great poem
spsnaor, but It is kept veed save nasaee on certaie
overwhelmed its beholder, who before had no
suspicion of Its brightness. My hope to-day
Is TO uncover the destiny OF your child or
student, about which you may have no es-
pecial appreciation, and flash upon you the
splendors of its immortal nature Behold the
shield and the sword OF its coming conflict,
propose In this discourse to set forth what
consider TO be some of the errors prevalent
III the training of children.
First. remark that many err in too great
severity ortoo great leniency of family gov.
eminent. Between parental tyranny and
ruinous laxativeness Of discipline there is a
medium, Sometimes the father errs on one
side and the mother on the other side. Good
family government Is all-important Anarchy
and nisrule in the domestic circle Is the fore
state. What repnlsiye spectacle 10 a homo
without order or discipline, dls9bedience and
their horfid @ 'front.' stt in the % place % Which should
be consecrated to all that is holy and peace.
fnl, and beautiful. In the attempt, to avoid
laws and regulations, parents have, sometimes
Mo7ward who was meroI1 to the
Children. John Milton l'"s knew Everything but but
hs in hs eass SeS ae
made them read to him in four or Ave Ian.
guages, but would not allow them to learn any
enough for a woman Their reading % Was me- ne
stood The IangassSs they read the the emp mp Ioy@snt %
sold his books, and hoped for his death. In
M has Of s1as nssd g f eSss s
When Barbara was put to death BY her
father because she had countermanded his
instead OF two, this cruel parent was o type
Of many who have acted the Nero and the
Robesplerre in the homo circle. The heart
families that pretend to be Christians-per-
petnal scolding, and hairpuliing, and ear;
b01i,pg, and a tha9mping and i stamping and
are vexed beyond bonnds and growl In the
sleeve, and pout, and rebel, and VOW
tSeS VII rssas haf IN the after sustss days
Of dispute as was the home OF John o'Groat,
point in Great Britain. And tradition says says
that the house had eight windows, and eight
doors, and table of eight sides, because he
them out of bitter quarrel was 70 have q sepa.
rate appointment for each one Of them.
That chlld's nature is too delicate to be
worked upon by sledge hammer, and gouge,
and pile driver. such fierce lashing, instead
ofbreaking the high mettie to bit and trace,
Many seem to think that children are flax
and swinsied., Some one talking to a child
there so crooked" The child replied;
~ suppose IT was trod on. while
1T yGnnIg Ia HoDos0fls,ed sS%s families
one child's head. II anything is done wrong,
the suppostion Is that George. did Ii. He
broke the latch. lie LETT open the gate. He
hacked the bannisters. He Whitfield sticks on
the carpets. And George shall be the scape-
suspicions. II thinEsget wrong in the culinary
departments, In comes the mother aud says,
angrily; Where Is GeorgeW II business
matters are perplexing at the store, in
comesthe father at night and says, angrily,
"Where Is GeorgeT, In many ahousehodthefe
Is such one singled out for suspicion and
Castigation. All the sweet flowers of his soul
blasted under this perpetual northeast storm
he curses the day IN which he was born SAFER